My Glossy Weekend: Rosy Temple

My Glossy Weekend: Rosy Temple

For ROSY TEMPLE, marketing manager of family-owned Magee 1866, the weekend is a mix of sport, friends, solo time and artistic pursuits …

Rosy Temple

Since I was child, weekends have never been about a lie-in and a box set catch up. They were about packing in as much activity as possible and that hasn’t changed. I live between Donegal and Dublin and wherever I am, the weekend is a chance to get outside and to enjoy all of the adventures Ireland has to offer.

During the week I work with my brother, Patrick, sister, Charlotte and father, Lynn [CEO of Magee 1866] in the family business of Magee 1866. My father decided the office team should have a half day on Fridays. This means all week we’re in the office by 8am allowing us to make the most of our Friday afternoons.

Rosy with her siblings Patrick and Charlotte.

You might think I see enough of family during the week, but we share plenty of interests beyond our love of luxury fabrics and clothing. We’re fiercely competitive and usually head out for a cycle together. Or I’ll be out running with my brother Patrick. This summer, we both ran the inaugural Magee 1866 Donegal Wild Atlantic Marathon; he beat me! My mother has an incredible one-acre walled garden [Salthill Garden] and recently I’ve been getting to grips with growing vegetables. Both my siblings now have children so I also love spending time with them and being “Crazy Aunt Rosy.”

I spent over four years in London [in sales and marketing at Christie’s and the food start-up, Rebel Kitchen] where weekends were a combination of parties, swimming in the Serpentine Lake in Hyde Park and hours at the Royal Academy or The Tate. Yet, even with all of that, one of the reasons I left London was the lack of wildness on the doorstep. Now, I’m so lucky to have the outdoors within reach. I love the freedom of hopping on my bike in Dublin and being up the Sally Gap in no time.

Sally Gap, Co Wicklow.

On Saturday mornings, winter or summer, you’ll find me swimming at our local pier in Donegal or I love meeting friends for a dip and catch up at Seapoint, Dublin. Nothing beats shared experiences with friends. I’m not a fan of eating out for breakfast; I prefer to have the freshest ingredients to hand and a decent-sized kitchen table for reading the newspaper. I have my classical music on as loud as I like – you can’t listen to Rachmaninoff on full blast in a café. If I’m at home, I’ll nip out to collect our own eggs, for poached eggs on homemade wheaten bread, or when I’m in Dublin, I’ll splash out in a quality grocery shop, somewhere like Liston’s on Camden Street, and make a breakfast fit for a king.

Rosy with her father Lynn Temple at Salthill Pier, Mountcharles, Donegal.

I tend to avoid being cooped up in a restaurant in the middle of the day – long lunches are not my style. Without a doubt if I’m in Donegal I’ll head out on our Galway Hooker with the sails up and the lines out for mackerel. For lunch I’ll pack a proper picnic with plenty of homemade goodies and bring my favourite coffee [roasted in Dublin, by Upside] and brew up hot water on the Kelly Kettle for a real al fresco experience.

Despite all the sport, you generally won’t find me tucked up in bed early on a Saturday night. I’m not one for formal dinners, and prefer to meet friends in a quirky restaurant like Assassination Custard on Kevin Street, or for a cocktail somewhere like Peruke and Periwig on Dawson Street. In Donegal, O’Neill’s pub is a favourite haunt: it’s a real gem of a place in the middle of nowhere.

Peruke & Periwig, Dublin.

On Sunday mornings, I am always outdoors. In winter you will find me donning my Donegal herringbone tweed jacket and heading out with the gun for a few hours of rough shooting. In the summer, I might go out kayaking or training for the next race. This month I’m heading to Killarney for the Quest Adventure Race. It’s five hours of mountain running [25km] and cycling [60km] with a kayaking section. Last month I competed in the Irish Coastal Rowing Championships in Cork with the Donegal Bay Rowing Club and was chuffed with our bronze medal.

The best Sunday lunch is most definitely at home: Mum is an amazing cook so the combination of vegetables from the garden and organic meat from our herd of Aberdeen Angus cows is hard to beat. Of course, I also always eat what I shoot, so it could be woodcock, which is just so flavoursome.

Salthill Garden, Co Donegal.

I really savour my own space and need my quota of “Rosy time” on a Sunday afternoon. Earlier this year, I cycled 2,500km solo in Patagonia and the combination of wild camping and working on a sheep farm to understand better the raw material of wool made a lasting impression. I took my sketchbook on my travels and now that I’m home, I try to make time for some painting.

Rosy’s watercolours of Patagonia.

After university I worked in Christie’s on King Street in London, with 18th and 19th-century drawings and watercolours; I’ve always loved the immediacy of watercolour and its ability to capture a moment. If I’m in the city, I’ll take myself off to a gallery to sketch there: some culture is key to balance all my sporting activities. The Hugh Lane is always my go-to gallery in Dublin. I actually am a bit Edwardian and have kept a diary since I was twelve, so I love taking a moment in the gallery café to write up what’s been happening in and outside of work.

Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane.

To prepare for the week ahead, I make a supply of flapjacks so that I have some decent snacks for the office. Last thing on Sunday, I’ll review my travel plans for the week as I could be jumping between Dublin, Donegal and the UK with work.